Fabric take-up means for knitting machines



Aug. 28, 1956 F. P. TRUMPIO 6 FABRIC TAKE-UP MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Feb. 28. 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Frank P Fumpio BY W/d%W ATTORNEY.

Aug. 28, 1956 F. P. TRUMPIO 2,760,362

FABRIC TAKE-UP MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Feb. 28, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 AWIIIIIIIYIIIAI m IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEY.

FABRIC TAKE-UP MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES Frank P. Trumpio, Temple, Pa., assignor to Textile Machine Works, Wyomissing, Pa., a corporation of Penn sylvania Application February 28, 1955, Serial No. 490,727

8 Claims. (Cl. 66-149) The instant invention relates to improvements in the drive for the fabric take-up rolls of warp knitting machines, such as machines for knitting tricot fabric. In machines of this type the fabric as it is knitted is conventionally wound on a roll which is driven through friction contact by a fabric guide roll which in turn is positively driven through a reduction gearing unit and a change speed device from a main drive or camshaft of the machine.

The instant invention is directed to the change speed device of such machines and is particularly concerned with and has for its principal object the provision of improved means for controlling the shifting of the device to vary the fabric take-up speed as desired.

It is known to effect speed changes in machines of this type through the use of a multiple flange pulley unit having fixed outer flanges and an axially adjustable double faced inner flange, the outer and inner flanges defining grooves for the reception of a pair of V belts leading from a pulley on the camshaft and to a pulley on the reduction gear unit respectively. Variations in the relative speeds of the driven and driving devices are obtained by adjusting the position of the pulley unit to increase the tension on one belt and decrease it on the other, whereby the axially adjustable inner flange member is caused to shift and thereby decrease and increase respectively the effective diameters of the grooves with respect to the belts with which they cooperate. An object of the invention is the provision of improved means for imparting such adjusting movement to the pulley unit.

A more specific object of the invention is the provision of a pivotally mounted member or quadrant supporting a pulley unit of the type referred to, the quadrant carrying a toothed rack for cooperation with a worm gear supported for rotation by a fixed portion of the machine.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device as defined above including indicator means carried by the member or quadrant and cooperating with indicia on a fixed portion of the machine for indicating adjusted positions of the pulley unit.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a device as defined by the foregoing objects in which the toothed rack is positioned on the member or quadrant more remote from the pivot than the change speed unit whereby fineness of adjustment is promoted.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of means for supporting the member or quadrant against lateral displacement with respect to the fixed parts of the machine.

My invention will be more fully understood and further objects and advantages thereof will become apparent when reference is made to the more detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which is to follow and to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a partial end elevational View of a warp knitting machine in which my invention is incorporated;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of a portion of the ma- United States Patent 2,760,362 Patented Aug. 28, 1956 chine of Fig. 1 with a cover plate removed to disclose certain features of the invention;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on the line 44 of Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, my invention is disclosed as incorporated in a warp knitting machine such as a tricot machine of generally conventional type. Such machine has the usual stitch forming elements including yarn guides 10, needles 12, sinkers 14 and presser plate 16, all carried by suitable bars which are in turn driven by the operating mechanisms of the machine to cause the elements to move in certain paths and in proper sequence to perform their fabric forming functions. Inasmuch as these devices and their operation form no part of the instant invention, they will not be described in any further detail.

The fabric, as it is formed by the knitting elements referred to above, passes around intermediate guide rolls 25 and 26 and finally to a take-up roll 18 supported for free rotation in suitable bearings in arms, one of which is shown at 2%, projecting from and forming part of the frame of the machine. Take-up roll 18 is driven through the frictional contact of an end flange 2'2 with an end flange 24 on a shaft 27 of the intermediate guide roll 26 also mounted for free rotation on the machine frame. Rolls 25' and 26 are positively driven by gearing (not shown) secured to the shaft 27 and a shaft 29 for the roll 25 by a main drive or camshaft 32 of the knitting machine through a speed reduction gear unit indicated diagrammatically at 28 and a change speed device or unit indicated generally at 30. The change speed device 30 is employed for the purpose of permitting variations in the speed of rotation of rolls 2-5 and 26 and of takeup roll 18 to assert different tensions on the fabric and thereby obtain'diflerent knitted effects.

The change speed device 30 (see Figs. 2, 3 and 4) in a known embodiment comprises a multiple flange pulley unit including axially spaced end flanges 34 secured in fixed position on a sleeve 36. In the device illustrated the flanges 34 are secured in such position by screws or studs 38 engaged in threaded openings formed partly in the hubs of the flanges and partly in the sleeve. A shiftable double faced central flange member 40 having an elongated hub 41 carrying bushings 42 is mounted for sliding movement on sleeve 3'6, extending portions of the 'hub being adapted to enter recesses 43 in the end flange members. The inner faces of the outer flanges 34 and both faces of the inner flange 40 are bevelled as illustrated to provide two belt receiving grooves, the widths of which, and hence the effective diameters of the pulley elements defined thereby, are controlled by the position of the central flange 40 intermediate the end flanges.

The unit described above including sleeve 36 is mounted for free rotation and sliding movement on a pin 44 between an outer collar 46 secured to the pin as by set screw 48 and an inner collar 50 made integral with or otherwise fixed to the pin. Pin 44 includes an extension '52 received within an elongated slot '54 in a supporting member or quadrant 56, pivoted on a pin 68, and later to be described in more detail, the longitudinal dimen sion of the slot lying on a radial line from the pivot The end of the extension is threaded to receive a nut '58. A Washer 60, beneath nut 58 bridges the slot, as well as does collar 50 whereby the position of unit 39 length wise of the slot may be originally adjusted and fixed by tightening of the nut 58.

The pulley elements defined by the end and central flange members receive belts 62 and 64, belt 62 also passing around a pulley 66 carried by the drive or camshaft 32 and belt 64 passing around a pulley 63 of the reduction gear unit 28. The position of unit 30 on member 56 is originally adjusted by movement of the pin along slot 54 until the slack of the belts is taken up with flange member 40 located midway between end flanges 34. As will be understood under such conditions the effective diameters of both pulley elements will be the same. Change in the relative speed of the belts and hence of the driving and driven devices is obtained by swinging member 56 on its pivot 68 to increase the tension on one of the'belts and decrease the tension on the other whereby an endwise shift of the flange member 40 occurs and the effective diameters of the pulley elements are correspondingly afiected. Also at this time the pulley unit is automatically adjusted axially of the pin 44 bebetween the collar 46 and collar 50 by the belts 62 and 64 to maintain the center line of the belts between the pulley unit and pulleys 63 and 66 at right angles to the axis of rotation of the pulleys.

A stated heretofore, the instant invention is particularly directed to the means for causing such shifting of the change speed device 30 and this means will now be described. Member or quadrant 56 is mounted for piv otal movement on the pivot pin 68, as previously men- .tioned, the pin projecting from a frame member 78 of the machine at a point intermediate pulleys 63 and 66. Member 56 at an edge further remote from the pivot pin 68 than device 30 carries a toothed rack 72 which may be formed integrally with the member or welded or otherwise secured thereto as desired. Rack 72 is of arcuate configuration with the pivot pin 68 as its center.

Also mounted on a fixed frame member of the machine such as the member 70, as by studs 74, is an upper bearing member 76 and a lower bearing member 78. The bearing members receive a shaft 80 carrying a worm 82 fixed to its lower end for rotation therewith, the worm being in meshing engagement With the teeth of rack 72. Lower bearing member 78 also includes extensions 84, see particularly Figs. 2 and 3, overlying opposite faces of the quadrant member to support it against lateral movement. A collar 86 secured on the shaft 80 and a hub or colalr portion 88 of the worm 82 engage opposite sides of bearing member 78 respectively, to fix the vertical position of shaft 80. The upper end of shaft 80 carries a hand wheel 90.

Projecting outwardly from member or quadrant 56 and preferably adjacent rack 72 is a pin or pillar 92 carrying a pointer 94 on its outer end, the pointer being secured as by a screw 96 threaded into an axial opening in the pillar. Referring now to Fig. 1, a housing-98 is provided for enclosing the. mechanisms which have been described above, the housing suitably being secured to the frame member 70 by studs 100. The housing includes an opening (not shown) through which the shaft 80 extends and also includes an arcuate opening 102 concentric to pivot 68 at the location of pointer 94. The end of pillar 92 extends through opening 102 with the pointer overlying a marginal edge of the opening. Adjacent such marginal edge is suitable indicia such as shown at 104.

From the above description it is believed that the operation of the device will be readily understood. Manual turning of shaft 80 by means of hand wheel 90 will through worm 82 and rack 72 swing member or quadrant 56 in a clockwise or a counterclockwise direction on its pivot pin 68 depending on the direction of turning of the hand wheel. The swinging movement of the member 56 will in turn create a greater tension in one of the belts and a lesser tension in the other with the result that slidable flange member 40 will adjust its position until the tension is again equalized. The shifting of the flange member 40 will provide a corresponding adjustment of the effective diameters of the pulley elements of device 30 whereby the desired speed change is obtained. Movement of the member or quadrant 56 is indicated by the position of the pointer 94 with respect to the indicia 104.

Having thus described my invention in rather full detail, it will be understood that these details need not be strictly adhered to and that various changes and modifications may be made, all falling withinthe scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a warp knitting machine including drive means and a driven fabric take-up means, means comprising a change speed unit for imparting a driving force therebetween, a member supporting said change speed unit and means mounting said member for movement in opposite directions, the improvement comprising a curved toothed rack carried by said member and defining an arc concentric to said mounting means, and means carried in fixed position on the machine for cooperation with said toothed rack to move said member in either direction.

2. In a warp knitting machine including drive means and a driven fabric take-up means, means comprising a change speed unit for imparting a driving force therebetween, a member supporting said change speed unit and means mounting said member for movement in opposite directions, the improvement comprising a curved toothed rack carried by said member and defining an arc concentric to said mounting member, means carried in fixed position on the machine for cooperation with said toothed rack to move said member in either direction, and cooperating indicator means respectively carried on said member and a fixed portion of said machine.

3. In a warp knitting machine including drive means and a driven fabric take-up means, means comprising a multiple flange change speed pulley unit for imparting a driving force therebetween, a member supporting said change speed unit and a pivotal mounting for said member, the improvement comprising a curved toothed rack carried by said member and defining an arc concentric to said pivotal mounting, a worm mounted in fixed position on said machine and in meshing relationship with said rack, and means for rotating said worm in either direction.

4. In a warp knitting machine including a drive means and a driven fabric take-up means, means comprising a multiple flange change speed pulley unit for imparting a driving force therebetween, a member supporting said change speed unit and a pivotal mounting for said member, the improvement comprising a curved toothed rack carried by said member and defining an arc concentric with said pivotal mounting, a rotatable shaft, means supporting said shaft in a fixed position on the machine, and a worm gear carried by said shaft in meshing engagement with said rack.

5. In a warp knitting machine including a drive means and a driven fabric take-up means, means comprising a multiple flange change speed pulley unit for imparting a driving force therebetween, a member for supporting said change speed unit and a pivotal mounting for said member, the improvement comprising a toothed rack carried by said member and defining an arc concentric with said pivotal mounting, said rack being located further from said pivotal mounting than said change speed unit, a rotatable shaft, means supporting said shaft on a fixed portion of the machine, and a worm gear carried by said shaft in meshing engagement with said rack.

6. In a warp knitting machine including a drive means, a driven fabric take-up means, means comprising a multiple flange change speed pulley unit for imparting a driving force therebetween, a member for supporting said change speed unit and a pivotal mounting for said member, the improvement comprising a toothed rack carried by said member and defining an arc concentric with said pivotal mounting, means for cooperation with said rack to swing said member on said pivotal mounting, a housing overlying said member and rack, an elongated opening in said housing having a marginal edge,

means projecting from said member through said opening and carrying a pointer adjacent said marginal edge, and indicia along said marginal edge for cooperation With said pointer.

7. In a warp knitting machine including a drive means, a driven fabric take-up means, means comprising a multiple flange change speed pulley unit for imparting a driving force therebetween, a member for supporting said change speed unit and a pivotal mounting for said member, the improvement comprising a toothed rack carried by said member and defining an arc concentric with said pivotal mounting, means for cooperation With said rack to swing said member on said pivotal mounting, a housing overlying said member and rack, an elongated opening in said housing having a marginal edge defining an arc concentric to said pivotal mounting, a support projecting from said member through said opening and carrying a pointer adjacent said marginal edge, and indicia along said marginal edge for cooperation with said pointer.

8. In a Warp knitting machine including a drive means, a driven fabric take-up means and means comprising a multiple flange change speed pulley unit for imparting a driving force from said drive means to said driven means, a member for supporting said change speed unit and a pivotal mounting for said member, the improvement comprising an arcuate toothed rack edge on said member concentric to said pivotal mounting, a rotatable shaft, bearing members in fixed position on the machine for rotatably supporting said shaft, a Worm carried by said shaft in meshing engagement with said rack, and means carried by one of said bearing members contacting opposite faces of said member to limit lateral movement of said member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,649,811 Noe Aug. 25, 1953 20 2,656,691 Shortland Oct. 27, 1953 

